Program for the "Great Hanging" Monument Dedication

Below is a copy of the program for the "Great Hanging" Monument Dedication.  Just in case, you lost yours or did not get one.

Forgotten No More

A year ago, I posted an article entitled "Gainesville's Forgotten People."  At the time, I wondered why a memorial had not been placed in Gainesville to remember the men who died in the Great Hanging of 1862.

What a difference a year makes!

Thanks to many good people in and around Gainesville, there is now a memorial for the men who died in the Hangings.  And, what a wonderful memorial it is!  Those of us who have an ancestor who died in the Great Hanging at Gainesville feel deeply indebted to all who helped to make this a reality.

Below are photos of the unveiling of the monuments that were placed in the Georgia Davis Bass Memorial Park on October 18, 2014.

Unveiling of the Monuments

Close-ups

Men who died in the 'Great Hanging'

Memorial account of 'Great Hanging'

Memorial Pavers

Memorial close-up of names

Note: There are still men who died in the hangings that very little is known.  Each family of a Gainesville Hanging victim has a story that needs to be told and shared.  If you have a "Great Hanging" ancestor, or you are just interested in history, please help by sharing stories and research about the victims of the Great Hanging and their families.  There are many ways to share: write a book, start your own blog, post your family information on Ancestry.com, leave a message on genealogy message boards, start a website, donate your stories to a historical society/library in Gainesville, post the information on this blog, and/or all of the above.  

Gainesville's "Great Hanging" Monument Dedication

The dedication of the Gainesville "Great Hanging" monument took place on Saturday, October 18, 2014, a beautiful fall day in Texas.  And, it was a memorable day for those of us who were able to attend.  
We started the event with an excellent luncheon at the Lions Field House of the North Central Texas College in Gainesville.  The luncheon was provided by the Texas State Historical Association and the Lone Star Chair in Texas History.   I was able to meet and visit with many people who previously I had only had the chance to correspond with.

 After the luncheon, we attended a theatrical reading called "October Mourning" at the Center for Performing Arts on the NCTC campus.  “October Mourning” was a 45 minute theatrical reading of the events of that terrible October in 1862, by local actors portraying historical characters connected to the events of the hanging. We were able to hear the story of the Great Hanging from the perspective of those who were there.  The program helped all of us better understand the feelings, emotions, and fears of the time from both perspectives. 
Following the reading,  Dr. Richard B. McCaslin answered questions from the audience about the Great Hanging.

After the program, everyone met at the Georgia Davis Bass Memorial Park for the monument dedication.  The monuments were covered when we arrived.  Most took the time to check out the names on the pavers that were placed between the monuments.

Master of Ceremonies was Dr. Richard "Rick" McCaslin.  Gainesville Mayor, Jim Goldsworthy, gave the welcome address and then we heard from guest speakers. 

Welcome by Gainesville Mayor Goldsworthy

There was a reading of the names and bell ringing for each man who died in October 1862 during the Great Hanging at Gainesville.  

Reading the names

Listening to the Dedication of the Monument

Upcoming Media Coverage for the October 18th Dedication

The following information about upcoming media coverage for the Great Hanging Monument Dedication was posted on "The Great Hanging - October 1862 Civil War" Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/40399537273/

Upcoming media coverage for the October 18th Dedication!

Dr. Rick McCaslin, author of Tainted Breeze, will be guest expert for these interviews. Tune in and spread the word.....

September 30 - KGAF Radio - 1580 AM
Live interview: 7:45amhttp://tunein.com/radio/KGAF-1580-s32769/

October 8 - KTEN Television 
Live interview: 11:00amhttp://www.kten.com/

October 5th or 12th - Dallas Morning News
Family interviews and in-depth article, photos

Make plans to be in Gainesville, Texas on October 18th!
Keep updated by checking the Facebook page or the Great Hanging 1862 website.

www.greathanging1862.com

Great Hanging Monument Dedication Updated Info

The following is the official press release from the Great Hanging Memorial Foundation: 

THE GREAT HANGING MEMORIAL DEDICATION

The Great Hanging Memorial Foundation announced today that a series of events will be held on October 18, 2014 to commemorate the historic event known as the “The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas, October 1862.”

The Great Hanging is a Texas Civil War era event of major historical significance.  Due to its dramatic and controversial nature, little has been done to memorialize those who lost their lives.

Although this event occurred 152 years ago, scholars and lay persons still have difficulty in agreeing on the appropriate interpretation of the incident.  Some contend that the action of the civilian and military authorities that led to the hanging of forty men and the shooting deaths of two men attempting to escape, was justified. Others argue that the tragic incident was nothing more than vigilante mob violence. 

On December 3, 2013 the Gainesville City Council unanimously approved the placement of two large granite stones at the Georgia Davis Bass Memorial Park in Gainesville, Texas to memorialize those who died.  The Great Hanging Memorial Foundation was then formed.

Funding for the purchase of two etched granite monuments, solar powered lighting and the memorial walkway was made possible through private donations.

The public is invited to the formal dedication which will begin with a luncheon on Saturday, October 18, 2014  (11:30 am - 1:00 pm) at the North Central Texas College Lions Field House, Gainesville, Texas. The luncheon will be followed by a program “October Mourning” at the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts, also located on the college campus.  The Monument dedication ceremony will begin at 3:00 pm at the Georgia Davis Bass Memorial Park at 729 East Main Street near downtown Gainesville. 

Anyone having knowledge of descendants of the Great Hanging is encouraged to contact the Foundation at (817) 999-9551. 

Those planning to attend the luncheon need to RSVP by September 30, 2014  by calling (817) 946-4491 or send email to greathanging1862@gmail.com

Dedication Schedule

October 18, 2014

Luncheon

11:30 am - 1:00 pm

Lions Field House, Cooke County Campus

North Central Texas College

1525 West California St.

Gainesville, TX 76240

Luncheon provided by the Texas State Historical Association and the Lone Star Chair in Texas History

RSVP by September 30 (817) 946-4491 or email greathanging1862@gmail.com

Directions

I 35 to Exit 497,  turn West on California St. (FM 51) 0.7 mi to Bonner St. (CR 304), Turn North 0.2 mi to the Field House on Left

Program “October Mourning”

1:00 - 2:30 pm -Free Admission- At the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts on NCTC campus, southwest of the Lions Field House

“October Mourning” is a 45 minute theatrical reading that brings life to the events of that terrible October in 1862, by local actors portraying the contemporary characters. Hear the story of the Great Hanging from the perspective of those who were there.  This reading will be followed by a 45 minute Q & A session with Dr. Richard B. McCaslin, author of “Tainted Breeze”.

Monument Dedication

3:00 pm

Georgia Davis Bass Memorial Park

729 East Main St., Gainesville, Texas (parallel street to California St.)

East of Cooke County Court House

Master of Ceremonies - Dr. Richard B. McCaslin

Great Hanging Monument Dedication

The Board of Directors and Volunteers of the Great Hanging Memorial Foundation have announced details for the monument dedication in recognition of the Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas, October 1862.

www.greathanging1862.com

The monument dedication will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2014.  Below is the schedule for the planned activities.  Visit the Great Hanging 1862 Memorial website for any updates.

11:30am – 1:00pm Luncheon

North Central Texas College Field House
1525 W. California Lane, Gainesville TX
Luncheon sponsored - University of North Texas;
Texas State Historical Association and Lone Star Chair in Texas History
RSVP by Sept. 30 – 817.946.4491 or email: greathanging1862@gmail.com

1:00pm – 2:30pm “October Mourning”

North Central Texas College - Center for Performing Arts (on Campus, near Field House) Theatrical reading that brings to life the events of that terrible October of 1862 with local actors portraying the contemporary characters. Hear the story of the Great Hanging from the perspective of those who were there. (No charge)

3:00pm Dedication Ceremony

Georgia Davis Bass Civil War Historical Park
729 E. Main St, Gainesville TX

Master of Ceremony – Dr. Richard McCaslin
Guest speakers – to be announced soon

Gainesville Council Approves Monument

Those of us who have personal ties to the victims of "The Great Hanging" just got an early CHRISTMAS present!!  There will finally be a monument for the men who died during of The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas 1862.  Yesterday, December 2nd, the following was reported on KXII News, Sherman, Texas.

Gainesville, Texas to get "Great Hanging" monument

Gainesville council approves construction of "The Great Hanging" monument

GAINESVILLE, TX -- The Gainesville city council approved the placement of two monuments that some in the community say are long overdue.

In October 1862, nearly 150 men suspected of supporting the Union were arrested for treason against the Confederacy.
42 of them were hanged in Gainesville, just days later.
Now,151 years later, the city and community is making sure this historical event is not forgotten.
91-year-old L.D. Clark has waited decades to hear these words...
"The motion passes unanimously," Mayor Jim Goldsworthy announced to the council.
Tuesday night, the council approved construction of two 5 foot tall monuments to be built where The Great Hanging took place.
"Well, it makes me feel somewhat justified," Clark said.
Clark's great great grandfather, Nathaniel Clark, was one of the men accused of treason, and hanged on the land right off California Street in Gainesville.
Clark and other members of the Great Hanging Monument committee say this project is long overdue.
"As you grow up in this area, you hear about it. So, I felt like it was a story that was long overdue to be told to the general public," Nancy Brannon said.
Nancy Brannon says the current monument, which was erected in the 60s, is nearly unreadable. And Steve Gordon says the information on it is now outdated.
"That's the information available up to 1964. There's been a lot of research done since then," Gordon said.
Gordon and several other Gainesville residents, some whom have since passed away, have worked tirelessly to collect the facts of the historical event.
Mayor Jim Goldsworthy said their efforts helped push this motion through.
"Our concern at council is that we're historically correct. Beyond that, we would like us to remember history as it unfolded and learn from history," Goldsworthy said.
The monuments will tell the known facts, and list the 42 names of the men who died.
The group says this outcome is a victory for them, but specifically for Mr. Clark.
"There's been a great change of heart in Gainesville concerning this monument, and it's going to be a great, adequate one to fit the situation," Clark said.
Clark has written both a novel and screenplay on The Great Hanging. He says he hopes one day that screen play will be bought and shown in theaters across the country,
The group has spent their own money, and collected donations to pay for the monument.
If you'd like to help contact Steve Gordon at 940-372-8835.

By: Morgan Downing - Email

Posted: Tue 11:02 PM, Dec 03, 2013

Gainesville's Past Still Stirs Passions

The following article written by Steve Campbell was posted Sunday, 7 Oct 2012, in the Star-Telegram. 

Note in the article that the Mayor Pro Tem Ray Nichols of Gainesville goes on record calling the Great Hanging, "That other thing?" and stating, "I don't think that's important to anybody."  Nichols' comment was insensitive, rude, arrogant, and unbecoming of a public official.  He owes an apology to those of us with an ancestor who died in the hanging!

After 150 years, a dark chapter of Gainesville's past still stirs passions

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/07/4318432/after-150-years-a-dark-chapter.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/07/4318432/after-150-years-a-dark-chapter.html#storylink=cpy

BY STEVE CAMPBELL

sfcampbell@star-telegram.com

GAINESVILLE -- Rand McNally recently named this North Texas town America's Most Patriotic City, but that red, white and blue slogan has collided with a grisly episode from 150 years ago: the Great Hanging of 1862, when vigilantes hanged 40 Union sympathizers and shot two more who tried to escape.

The Civil War incident that pitted neighbors against neighbors in a paroxysm of suspicion and retaliation remains a touchy subject here, particularly for families whose ancestors were strung up from an elm tree not far from the courthouse.

They say the city of 16,000 has always tried to duck the dark episode that at the time sparked outrage in the North and drew applause across the South.

"People damn well try to whitewash it," said 89-year-old L.D. Clark, a retired English professor whose great-grandfather Nathaniel M. Clark was hanged on Oct. 13, 1862, leaving behind a wife and seven children, including a son in the Rebel army.

Mayor Jim Goldsworthy says Gainesville isn't "running away from the horrible event."

The city would rather "hang our moniker on being the most patriotic town in America and drive our tourism that way."

The latest contretemps flared when a local museum planning an Oct. 12-13 event to mark the 150th anniversary put up a billboard in late August off Interstate 35 promoting it as "October's Reign of Terror, Commemorating the Great Hanging of 1862."

It quickly came down when Cooke County Heritage Society directors bailed on the event after Mayor Pro Tem Ray Nichols voiced his disapproval with the "sensational" marketing to the director of the Morton Museum, which the society manages.

"We received some information that intimidated the executive board, and we decided to cancel," said Steve Gordon, a retired engineer and former president of the society who organized the event. "We got scared because the city gives the museum money. I'm very bitter about it. Gainesville has been hiding from the Great Hanging since it happened."

Nichols, a retired banker, said he wasn't acting in his official capacity but as a private individual and contributor to the museum who felt the billboard "put the city in a bad light."

He also didn't appreciate that the event was scheduled on the weekend of the city's Depot Days, an annual celebration of the area's railroad history.

"Gainesville was voted most patriotic city in America this year, and we are very excited about it and our Medal of Honor Host City program. I think those are important. That other thing? I don't think that's important to anybody," he said.

Don't tell that to Colleen Carri, Clark's niece and a heritage society board member who decided to keep the commemoration alive by pairing it with the annual Clark family reunion Oct. 13.

Carri expects 220 attendees, including descendants of six other hanging victims, at the event called Remembering Our Past, Embracing Our Future.

With cities across the country commemorating Civil War anniversaries, she said, Gainesville is missing out.

"I don't get their mentality except they are afraid it's going to tarnish this most patriotic thing. They didn't know how to spin it; they didn't know what to do with it."

But this might be one where spin couldn't win.

"Having a celebration of a time when they hanged people being loyal to the United States would not go well with the most patriotic town label," said University of North Texas professor Richard B. McCaslin, one of the event's speakers and the author of Tainted Breeze: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas 1862.

The Rebel line

There's another skirmish line on this old battlefront, and it is cloaked in gray. Some North Texans with the Sons of Confederate Veterans believe the Unionists were traitors, and they've produced a movie to tell the "complete history" based on two controversial accounts by men involved in the hangings.

David Moore of Weatherford has two ancestors who were ringleaders of the Unionists -- Henry Childs, a doctor, and his brother, Ephraim, who were the first to be hanged.
"If I was living back then and I knew what those brothers did, I would have hung them, too. It was treason," said Moore, the director of Black October 1862, which will be screened Oct. 13 at the Masonic Lodge in Gainesville.
"Were there innocent people hung? Yes. We're saying there is more to it than what has been presented in the literature out there," Moore said.

Most people only know the victims' stories, said Joe White of Gainesville, the First Lieutenant Commander of the Lee-Bourland Camp 1848 of the SCV. (Col. James Bourland, a "good fighter and good hater," led the troops that rounded up the Unionists.)

"It was the Confederate States of America. They were under military law," White said. "If you have people feeding information to the enemy, what are they?"

Monumental divide

The lingering schism between Gainesville's link to the Confederacy and the mass hanging is "strikingly illustrated" by two monuments, McCaslin said.

On the front lawn of the Cooke County Courthouse, a monolith topped with a Rebel soldier stands watch over the square.

Part of the 1911 monument's flowery inscription reads "no nation rose so white and fair none fell so pure of crime," which makes Clark grimace.

"So pure of crime?" growls Clark, who 30 minutes before had read an inscription on his great-grandfather's grave at the Clark Cemetery that said he was "Murdered by a Mob."
A few blocks away, the town's lone marker for the Great Hanging stands forlornly among piles of construction debris from a flood control project.

"What's fascinating is that this account on this marker is the only evidence of the Great Hanging in Cooke County. There's not a marker with any of the victims' names on it," Carri said.

Goldsworthy says the site will be restored when the construction is done.

The marker was once located across I-35 "as far away as you could get from the town center," said McCaslin, who added that now-deceased former Mayor Margaret Hayes pushed for a Great Hanging park and got the monument moved.

"She saw it as a tourism possibility. People like that sort of ghoulish stuff," he said. "Some places have turned their dark days into big tourist attractions, like the Salem witch trials in New England. They've managed to flip it over. Maybe we're not far enough away yet."

"A pressure cooker"

In 1862, Cooke County was a remote outpost of the Confederacy. Only 10 percent of the households had slaves, and it had voted 2-to-1 against secession while Texas as a whole was 3-to-1 in favor of it.

Located just south of the Red River, Gainesville was a frontier town beset by threats. Just north was Indian Territory. Deserters and outlaws roamed the border lands. To the west, Comanche Indians ruled.

"These people were living in a pressure cooker," McCaslin said.

When the war started in 1861, many Union supporters volunteered for frontier guard units in hope of avoiding fighting in the East. But the Confederate Conscription Act of April 1862 changed everything, McCaslin said.

A loose affiliation of men formed a secretive Union League with a primary aim of avoiding the draft, he said.

But rumors were soon rampant that the group had grown to 1,700 and had John Brown-style plans to storm militia arsenals in Gainesville and Sherman and then aid an invasion.

Bourland's troops arrested more than 150 men on Oct. 1, and Confederate Col. William C. Young formed a citizen's court of 12 jurors of mostly slaveholders. Seven Unionist leaders were hanged, and then a mob lynched 14 more, McCaslin said.

The rest of the suspects were to be released, but "the real killing started" the next week after unknown assailants murdered Young and another man, he said.
Nineteen more men were then convicted and hanged. Over the course of the day, two prisoners at a time were hanged from the back of a wagon.

But Gainesville wasn't alone in its fear and retaliation. In Decatur, five Unionist suspects were hanged, and a prisoner was shot in Denton. Earlier, in August, 19 Unionist German settlers fleeing from the Hill Country to Mexico had been killed in the Battle of Nueces, and nine prisoners were executed.

Neighbors torn apart

McCaslin has never found evidence of communication between people in North Texas and Union authorities.

"I think it was just talk. That infuriates some people; they want me to tell them these were horrible traitors that deserved to be killed. But traitors to what? They were actually loyal to the country they had been raised in all their lives."

What remains most fascinating for McCaslin is how quickly neighbors turned on one another.

"But it is not the first time and it's not the last time. We see it today. Under pressure people can do very unreasonable things.

"When you bring something like this to light, smelling to high heaven, it undermines the idea of a united South. To me, it makes it a more human story because we always divide. It's what we do; it's what we are. It's the nature of a democracy. Sometimes we handle it well, and sometimes we don't handle it well at all.

"That upsets people; they don't want to hear that Great-Great-Grandpa made a mistake."

Steve Campbell, 817-390-7981

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/07/4318432/after-150-years-a-dark-chapter.html#storylink=cpy

Commemoration now hosted by Clark Family

Great Hanging Commemoration now to be hosted by the Clark Family.   Commemoration will take place on Saturday, October 13, 2012.  
MANY THANKS TO THE CLARK FAMILY!!

The Clark family has issued the following information:

Update - August 29,2012

On Monday night , August 27th, the Cooke County Heritage Society Executive Board of Directors met and made the unanimous decision to cancel “October’s Reign of Terror” due to lack of support. This two day event was the Commemoration of the Great Hanging of 1862, This educational event featured bus tours to local cemeteries, renowned authors and speakers, and a Civil War era ball.

HOWEVER - the Clark family will host a one-day event at the same location.

Remembering Our Past, Embracing Our Future
October 1862 - 2012
This year marks the 150th year since the Great Hanging at Gainesville. The Clark Family invites you to join them for commemoration events and catered luncheon.

Saturday, October 13, 2012 at the Civic Center
200 S. Rusk St, Gainesville, Texas

9am – 12noon Speakers – Richard McCaslin, Leon Russell, Ron Melugin and L.D. Clark

12noon Catered Luncheon

3:30pm Clark Cemetery
Color Guard Ceremony

5pm Clark-Carri Farm
629 Clark Rd Gainesville
Hor d’ oeuvres & Bonfire


RSVP - before October 5, 2012
E:mail: NathanielClarkfamilyreunion@gmail.com

Additional information contact Brenda Clark Fehlbaum – 214.803.9212 or
Colleen Clark Carri – 817.999.9551

This was posted Wednesday, August 29, 2012 11:32:00 PM

2012 Great Hanging Event Canceled -- WHY??

 The following can be found on the website for the Commemoration of the Great Hanging:

On Monday night , August 27^th, the Cooke County Heritage Society Executive Board of Directors met and made the unanimous decision to cancel  "October’s Reign of Terror” due to lack of support.

Not much of an explanation  --  Sounds kind of lame.  Especially for those who have already purchased flights, reorganized work schedules, reserved rooms, etc, etc.   

**UPDATE** Check out the follow-up announcement by the Clark family here.

**Please read this post to find out WHY the commemoration event by the Cooke County Heritage Society was canceled.  Note the comment made by the Mayor Pro Tem of Gainesville.  It appears that Gainesville wants to ignore the fact that the hanging took place in their town.

McCaslin & Clark to speak at 'Great Hanging' event

Two favorite authors of books concerning the Great Hanging will be speaking in Gainesville at the Civic Center on Saturday Morning, October 13, 2012.  The schedule for Saturday morning, October 13, 2012, of the sesquicentennial commemoration of the Great Hanging, includes Richard McCaslin, PhD and L. D. Clark, PhD, Leon Russell, and Ron Melugin.

Noted historian and author, Richard McCaslin, PhD, will speak on the topic of his book, "Tainted Breeze: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas 1862."  Richard B. McCaslin, a professor and Department of History Chairman at the University of North Texas, is the author of many historical books, including Tainted Breeze: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas,  1862 (LSU, 1994), which won the Tullis Prize and an AASLH commendation.  Dr. McCaslin  earned his BA from Delta State University, MA from Louisiana State University and PhD from The University of Texas at Austin.

Also speaking is L. D. Clark, PhD.  His topic will be family stories of the Great Hanging.  L. D. Clark is the grandson of James Lemuel Clark and great-grandson of Nathaniel Miles Clark, who was hanged during the Great Hangings.  L.D. Clark earned his BA, MA, and PhD from Columbia University. He has a long career of teaching English at the University of Arizona, The University of Nice and Korea University.  He is the author of several books including  A Bright Tragic Thing, a novel based on the Gainesville hanging, and Civil War Recollections of James Lemuel Clark,  memoirs of his grandfather.

Sesquicentennial Great Hanging Event

This event has been CANCELED!!
**Please check out the follow-up announcement by the Clark family here** 

GREAT HANGING AT GAINESVILLE, TX 1862

SESQUICENTENNIAL EVENT

October 12-13, 2012

Gainesville, Texas

The Morton Museum of Gainesville has recently added information about the Commemoration of the Great Hanging to their calendar.  This event will take place October 12-13, 2012 in Gainesville, Texas.

A website was created for the event:  www.greathangingevent.org 

The home page states the following:

This Civil War Tragedy resulted in the hanging of forty men suspected of being unionists. 
The two day event commemorates the 150th year of the Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas.
Friday, October 12, 2012 includes bus tours to historic sites and an evening meal with a Civil War Ball. 
On Saturday, October 13, the day starts with coffee and donuts, lectures by distinguished authors, lunch, a film entitled "Black October" and a panel discussion.

Visit the website for registration information.  Hope to see you there!

150th Commemoration of The Great Hanging - 2012

Mark your calendars for next year's big event!!
The following was posted on The Great Hanging Group facebook page:

The Morton Museum and Cooke County Heritage Society, in conjunction with several local organizations, will sponsor the 150th Commemoration of The Great Hanging - October 12-13, 2012 in Gainesville, Texas.
Over the course of two days, educational events and a roster of historians will address both the Northern and Southern perspective as it pertained to North Texas during the Civil War. A memorial service will be held on October 13th.
More details to follow soon.


Facebook has a Group for the Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas. If you are a 'Great Hanging of Gainesville' descendant or have an interest in Texas History, you might want to join this group on facebook. Joining this group should keep you updated on all the news concerning the Great Hanging.

The name of the group is: Gainesville Texas - The Great Hanging - October 1862 Civil War
The category of the group is: Common Interest - History
The group description is:
Certainly one of the worst atrocities of the Civil War occurred in Gainesville, Texas in Oct. 1862, when 40 men, suspected of Union sympathies, were hanged.
Searching for descendants of the 42 victims who were hanged in Gainesville, Texas in 1862. An anniversary celebration in October 2012 will mark 150 years since this tragedy - the most mass hangings in the United States.
Photo of Nathaniel Miles Clark, lynched in the Great Hanging in Gainesville, TX on October 13, 1862.